


Daylight

by Judithan



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Gijinka, Love Triangle, M/M, Multi, Other, Polyamory, Rating May Change, Slow To Update, tribe au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judithan/pseuds/Judithan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Freedom can only be taken, not given, and Shadow -Prince of the Sun Tribe- is ready and willing to put everything on the line and run away. Friends and family can't make him stay, and just as he receives his first real taste of independence, a chance encounter with someone will change his life forever. What he doesn't know is that war is on the horizon. Knuxadow/Shadilver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming of Age

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone in this is human, for the most part. They all have tails and ears like their original designs, but that’s it, in terms of furriness. Also, there will be a little bit of ooc involved, but that’s the same with all AUs. If it gets too much in any part, let me know and I’ll rewrite it as best as I can! Please enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters involved belong to, and are property of Sega and the Sonic Team. I don’t own anything except the concept for the plot. If I did own Sonic, then everything I love would be canon.

“-ke up!” A grumble and a groan sounded from the mountain of black and red blankets, and the boy gave a determined scowl. Even with the light filtering in through the closed curtains, surely this figure’s internal clock wasn’t so skewed that sleeping until the middle of the day was an option, was it?

Upon hearing another weak snore, clearly, it was.

“Wake UP, Shadow!” And before the sleeping teen knew what hit him, all the blankets and comforters he had procured were ripped off of him, discarded on the floor. Somewhere in the mass of blankets his leg got caught, so he went down with his blankets- head hitting the floor none too gently. A thud resounded through the room, followed by a long string of vehement, half-asleep cursing.

“-ing shit, Sonic, what do you want?” Slurring and obnoxious, the rudely awoken teen rubbed his aching head, black and red hair unruly under his hand. Sleep was still heavy over him, as he attempted to untangle his limbs from the mess of fabric. Unfortunately, the task proved too challenging in his state, and he opted to stare at the individual who woke him. His gaze met blue hair, bright eyes, and a disgruntled look on his face that bordered amusement and disapproval. Shadow simply stared up at Sonic with an incredulous smirk plastered on his face, though he was by no means amused.

“It’s almost eleven, idiot, we’ve been waiting on you for breakfast,” He paused for a second, staring at the disgruntled teen. ” Do you even remember what day it is today?” The look of amusement faltered on the blue-haired teen’s face. Instead, it became a look of annoyance as his question was ignored, in favor of Shadow trying to get his bearings.

After a few moments of watching Shadow attempting to detangle himself from the mass of blankets, he let out an exasperated sigh. Sonic bent over and pulled away enough of the blankets for the black-haired teen to finally stand up. Shadow flashed an appreciative smile before becoming stoic and dusting his hands off, like it was all him. His younger brother gave him an incredulous look before continuing on.

“It’s our birthday.” Shadow nodded absently, walking over to his dresser –black, just like everything else in his room.

“Fuck- is it really?” His exasperated words betrayed his nonchalance as he dug through one of his drawers, trying to find a shirt to throw on that wasn’t something his mother would consider ‘fit for peasants’ –whatever that meant. Eventually, he settled for just wrapping up his tattoos and throwing on his favorite jacket; black, with red stripes on the sleeves, and copious amounts of white fur lining the collar.

“Yeah it is, and just because we’re of age doesn’t mean you can just say whatever the hell you want.” The blue-haired male gave him a disgruntled, but cheeky smirk. Both of them just gave each other a look, almost as though amused at how hypocritical that statement was. However, neither would admit they were mutual on any topic.

“Whatever, faker.” While Shadow didn’t care too horribly what his family thought of him, he felt that it would be better to change his pants before heading out. After all, his mother had told him enough times to stop looking like the help that he could hardly stand it any longer. Fortunately, he and his brother had stopped caring about seeing each other change so long ago that it didn’t weird either of them out too horribly. 

“No, really, you’ve been calling me that all month, what does that even mean?” His eyes went wide, mouth drew into a straight line, and his hands shook just so, to accentuate his speaking. Shadow ignored his question, though, opting instead to throw on some socks and shoes.

“I’m heading down to get breakfast; get out of my room.” Without another word, he exited the room, and smirked when he heard Sonic walk out behind him, closing the door closed with a satisfying click. Everyone knows the rule about Shadow’s room; door stays closed at all times of the day, no exceptions.

Walking down the hallway, Shadow was pleased by the usual click-clacking of his metal-toed shoes hitting the expensive marble that made up nearly every hard surface of the castle. Living the life of luxury was most certainly the only part he enjoyed about even being near this stuffy home.

“Don’t have to ask twice, freak.” Sonic tried to murmur under his breath, but he never really was one for being quiet, or even keeping his mouth shut. The black-haired teen stopped dead in his tracks, turning around to glare daggers into his twin’s face.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, but Mom’s not gonna like your new color. Black and red? Can’t say I didn’t see it coming. I think some of your roots are showing, though.” He practically sing-songed as he made his way past his older twin, hands resting on the back of his neck in such a way that he seemed oh-so innocent. However, the cheeky smirk plastered across his face would beg to differ. All Shadow could do in response is let out a slur of indignities and flip the teen off.

“Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face before I come over there and-“

“PRINCE SHADOW, GET OVER HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANCE!” Before either of them saw her coming, a familiar form was nearly screaming at the black-haired male from the base of the castle’s marble stairs. The scowl that had been on Shadow’s expression was replaced by a look of fear and disapproval.

“Busted!” Sonic hummed, relishing in his twins misery. He continued on his way, grinning like he had nothing better to do with his face.

“Shut up, faker.” The black-haired teen called after his twin, just as Sonic was turning a corner, and barely caught the younger male flipping him off. He couldn’t help but feel his blood boil at the gesture, but was left without any means of retaliation.

“Shadow, what on earth did you do to your hair?!” The girl’s fists were curled on her hips, causing her white dress to curl up, if only enough to show more of her slim legs. Shadow would never say the girl was unattractive, but she most certainly wasn’t the girl for him, no matter what his mother claimed.

“Good morning to you, too, Elise.” Dead-pan and sarcastic as always, he enjoyed watching the brunette’s eye twitch a bit under what he could only assume was mental strain. At least, that’s what he assumed females had, considering how she and his mother acted all the time.

“Don’t try dodging my question. What happened to your hair?” Tentatively, she reached up and lightly pulled on one of the red streaks that flowed out behind his ears. Not caring to be too polite, he brought a hand up, swatting hers away. 

“I dyed it.”

She heaved out an exasperated sigh into her hand, trying her hardest to keep her temper in check. Though, from the look on her face, she was just about ready to cry, scream, or both. He didn’t care too horribly, though, and opted instead for shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and letting it be known how little he cared. 

“I can that, but -our wedding is in less than a week, and you go and pull a stunt like this?” Elise’s voice was more melodramatic than it was harsh, but It was clear in the way she talked to him that she was no more hurt by his changed appearance than she was in love. Arranged marriages tended to spark empty relationships.

“It’s only a wedding if both people are there.” His words came out cold, and he saw the hurt look on her face. There was nothing between them, so it didn’t hurt to hear that they didn’t truly care about one another, at least, not when it came to anything romantic. Hearing that Shadow wasn’t even trying to pretend was what hurt.

“Shadow! How can you say that, after all you’ve done-”

“You mean, after everything my mother has done. I haven’t once agreed to any of this.” The heels of his shoes clicked on the floor as he tried to walk past her, stopping only to inform her of his true feelings about the situation. After all, with the wedding so close, he’d do anything to get out of it.

“But I thought you-”

“Only because my mother forced me into this.” Mimicking Sonic, he placed his hands on the back of his neck, elbows out. To say he couldn’t have cared less about his supposed fiancée’s feelings was something of an understatement. Without so much as a final word on the subject, he set off towards the dining hall, trying to ignore the shouts of the to-be queen.

“Sha- hey, Shadow, where are you going?” Her tone was not demanding so much as it was insulted. Taking a glance back at her, he noticed her knees bent in and fists curled, lip nearly quivering. When things got tough, she always was a bit of a cry-baby, even though she liked to act tough.

“To get some breakfast, as I had intended on the first place.” And without a word more, he turned the corner and could only faintly hear her fuming, before the halls became silent, besides the white noise of the help running to and fro. He never could understand just how hard it was to maintain a household where no one besides him made any messes, and no one hardly interacted with one another.

The white marble that covered the castle made it shine brilliantly in the morning sun, and if Shadow was more melodramatic, like his mother claimed he was, he may have feigned melting under the rays. However, he had not been subjected to vampirism, and simply continued on his morning walk to the dining hall, which he absently mused to himself as to why on earth is it halfway across the entire estate? Surely the people who originally designed the castle hadn’t intended on making a poor, brooding teenager-turned-adult walk nearly a thousand yards just to get some bacon and toast!

Not that it really mattered, though, because when it came down to it, the morning walk he got between getting dressed and getting to eat helped him wake up and act less like the walking dead and more like a somewhat civilized human being. At least, that’s what he told himself, despite how he knew how vigorously his mother would disagree if he ever said that aloud. She was always complaining to him about sitting up straight, acting like royalty, and for the love of god, Shadow, would you stop trying to summon Solaris in your mashed potatoes!

Okay, so, that was only one time. But, still.

Turning another corner, Shadow snapped out of his thoughts just in time to watch the open double doors leading to the dining hall disappear behind him. At the massive table, with its total of 52 seats, sat Sonic and his mother, as well as a white-haired girl with hedgehog ears –perhaps someone from the village? The girl and Shadow’s mother were discussing something, taking every few minutes to eat, properly chew, and swallow.  
Shadow didn’t care too much about formalities, however, and just grabbed a seat right next to Sonic, scowling at how he was already half-done with his food. 

“The Night Tribe, you say? I haven’t heard anything about them since-” The look on his mother’s face was one of concern and confusion, and Shadow was mildly disappointed that he hadn’t heard what spawned it. What he wouldn’t give to spoil his mothers mood. Apparently, the sound of him sitting down interrupted her thoughts, as her attention quickly went from the –surprisingly heavily-dressed- girl to her rebellious son.

“Oh, Shadow, I see you’re finally ready to join the land of the living.” The blue-haired woman’s voice was hardly amused, but she tried to force a pleasant smile on her face. She had long since stopped entertaining Shadow’s belligerence, but was obligated to act like the proper Queen everyone knew her to be, due to this guest. 

“Not quite, but I thought I’d entertain you and, whoever this is.” Red eyes scanned over the white-haired girl’s face, finding her to be much less feminine up close.

‘Not like that matters,’ He thought to himself. ‘It’s not like they’ll be here for long anyway.’ But even then, he never fully averted his gaze. Shadow was always something of a loner, and prefered observing people than interacting with them, and this stranger seemed all but boring.

“This is Silver, the Prince of the Snow Tribe.” Shadow took a double take, looking up to see that, yes, that was most definitely a male, considering the Adams apple that his fluffy collar tried to hide, and his masculine jawline. It didn’t matter to him, either way. He wasn’t entirely interested in anyone -be them male or female, or whatever inbetween they decided on- because regardless of who they were, they never respected his wishes above his mothers.

Elise alone was proof of that, considering how she didn’t dare to stray from his mother’s words. Though, he tried to not make assumptions about people, especially those with real authority. Maybe this random newcomer could be of some use to him. That was doubtful, and he ditched the idea entirely.

No, solitude fit him much better, he decided.

“Name’s Shadow, Prince of the Sun Tribe.” He declared with a small head nod. A tight smile formed over his lips, because out of everything his mother taught him, the only thing that stuck was that first impressions were the most important, and he wanted to give this kid every reason to think he was bad news. The fewer friends he had, the better. After all, no one can snitch on you if you take all your adventures alone.

Picking up a fork, he poked hesitantly at the eggs on his plate before diving into them, hardly even concerned about the fact that all eyes were on him and his lack of manners. Food was food, and he didn’t have time to be pussy-footing around when the people he hated most sat mere feet away from him. Looking up for the briefest of moments, he felt satisfaction in the fact that his mother was staring at him in pure horror, while Silver simply sat and pleasantly smiled. To his right, he could almost feel the negative aura of his twin, and casting a glance, he could see the look of disgust on his face.

“But I heard from Queen Rune that Sonic, here, was the…”

“Yes, well, he’s the one that my mother is proud of.” Silver’s face twisted to an expression of amusement and shock, lip drawn tight to try and hide the smirk shining through.

“Shadow!” Voice indignant, Shadow’s mother gave him the most incredulous look she could muster without looking absolutely enraged. He didn’t bother to make eye contact, simply ate the rest of the food he was planning on eating before getting up from his seat.

“Thanks for the food, I’m going to go hang out in my room and not talk to anyone for the next six hours. Let me know when the ceremony is; I plan on missing it.” Nonchalantly, he waved his hand in a dismissing manor, not caring to push in his seat as he stood, or even taking care of his plate –surprising no one, considering how he never did on any occasion other than major gatherings.

“Shadow!”

He didn’t bother to even turn around, sulking off to his room. With a glance back, once he reached the door, he noticed his family discussing something with one another, and a cautious, almost concerned look from the white-haired boy. 

He didn’t need sympathy, though.

All he needed was freedom.


	2. Graceless

Outside the open window, Shadow heard the sound of the bustling commerce and energetic voices. Even though the sun was hastily retreating behind the mountaintops, it didn’t stop the human and beast-men activity in the streets. Nothing but the dead of night could do that, he found. Just looking down at the town from atop the hill where the castle was built, he felt disgustingly superior to his people –which he only smirked grimly at. There was no way in hell they were ‘his’ people.

On any other afternoon, he would be down there, running along the rooftops, avoiding the streets like the plague, considering how they were littered with soldiers who would drag him back to the castle, all just for a taste of freedom. Today was special, though. He had confined himself to his quarters to avoid everyone and everything as he tried to find a way to store as much of his belongings as he could into one bag before he quietly slipped out the window.

He had planned on running away for some time, but never felt it was something absolutely necessary. After all, something always happened, and everything calmed down. Yelling reduced to apologies, and brawls reduced to bandages. Everything calmed down, and normalcy would always return.

But, once the ceremony commenced, and Shadow was finally named King, normalcy would never return.

The bag on his bed already filled to the brim with as much clothing and ‘necessary’ items –such as money he received as ‘allowance’ and some rations he stole from the kitchen, consisting of three bottles of water, a fairly large bag of nuts and candy, and about a dozen gross-tasting protein bars his sword instructor told him were good for sustaining strength over long endeavors. He was by no means unprepared, and now, all that was left was to wait for nightfall, so he could finally depart for the last time from this god-awful castle.

Perched in the windowsill, he looked down at the town, noticing street light after street light fluttering alit. Twilight certainly was his favorite time of day, he had decided long ago. So much mindless activity between the pawns in the street he was supposed to become the ruler of, in mere hours, but with the tranquil beauty of the setting sun marking the inevitable end of the day.

‘God, I sound like Elise on her ‘good days.’ He mused to himself, chuckling halfheartedly as he remembered that she would be sourly disappointed in his disappearance. Even though he wanted out of this game, the black haired male wanted in no way to hurt the people around him.

All he wanted was freedom, and if he had to take it by force, so be it.

Removing himself from the windowsill, he made for his desk across the room. The dust on it made it known how often he actually used the wooden space-filler, but he paid it no mind. There was something important he had to do, and as he grabbed a piece of paper and pen, he set to work thinking on how he should word his goodbye note.

Word after word, crumpled page after crumpled page, he felt exasperated by the time the sun finally set behind the mountains and he still didn’t have a noteworthy farewell note. The last clean page of paper stared up at him, and he realized that this was his last chance to get it right.

Exhaling a sigh, he searched his mind for the right words, finding that they came so much easier than he would have thought.

The words on the page were messy and scribbled, but he couldn’t care less. Having neat handwriting was always Sonic’s thing, and now that he had resigned from royalty, it didn’t hardly matter.

Nothing matter anymore, now that he was so close to freedom.

He smiled sadly to himself, staring at his room one last time as he grabbed the well-packed bag off of his bed and approaching the windowsill. So many memories happened in this room, from his first lost tooth to his first attempt at dating a girl to the biggest fight he’s ever had with Sonic, even to date. The scar on his side still stung from that fight, even though it was over two years ago that it happened. Falling on glass tables tended to do that. His mother never kept glass furniture in the castle, ever since.

She had been so scared to lose him.

How ironic, considering how he was just inches away from freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom.

A knock on the door interrupted him. Fear ate at his stomach, because if that was his mother, there would be nothing he could do to escape.

“Shads, I’m coming in. You better not be touching yourself.” The casual voice of his brother made his stomach churn even more than if it had been with his mother –at least she would never lay a hand on him. The knob turned, door creaking as it opened. As soon as the blue-haired male saw his brother, he knew something wasn’t quite right. The bag slung over his shoulder spoke volumes, and when he looked over to see the lone, folded paper on his desk, he knew exactly what was happening.

“W-what are you doing? Were you just going to run away?”

“That was the plan.” Voice humorless, Shadow refused to look the younger of the two in the eyes. This wasn’t something to be taken lightly, and he didn’t want to add insult to injury. The blue-haired teen stepped forward, just an inch, and in the fading sunlight shining through, the prince could see the torn look on his face.

“Shadow.” His voice was icy, almost vehement, but with a sound to it that made it seem like he was trying to stay calm. Just stealing a glance at the younger male gave away just how absolutely livid he was.

“I know you’re probably upset, bu-“

“ARRGG FUCKIN SHIT SONIC, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?” A solid punch collided with his nose, a sick pop echoing in the room. Blood gushed out, a sharp sting that infected his entire face. Gloved hands rushed up, red quickly staining the white cotton, but the melodramatic prince couldn’t be bothered to care.

“For leaving without even saying goodbye!” Though his mind was more concerned about stopping the blood gushing down his face and ruining his jacket and gloves, he quickly took note of the wounded tone in Sonic’s voice. 

“I left a note.” He offered, noticing the other visibly cringe when he popped his nose back into place, a sick crack sounding for all of a second, and a searing pain left lasting.

“Like that makes up for it!”

“Sonic…” The bleeding finally stopped, but the blood had thoroughly stained Shadow’s gloves and jacket, and he simply chose to discard both on his bed. Nearly forgetting he hadn’t opted for a shirt, this morning, he felt the chill of night hit his skin, and felt his mood dip just a bit more.

“Here, I only came to give you your birthday gift. Wanted to see you wear them when you were named King. Guess that isn’t happening, huh?” A bit of a pout could be seen on the blue prince’s face, and Shadow could almost feel the spear of guilt lodging into his chest. This wasn’t supposed to have happened –running away should have been easy, not meant to make him second-guess everything he had wanted. Forcefully, the blue-haired teen pushed an unwrapped box into his older brother’s hands, startling Shadow at the forcefulness.

“I, well, no.” The silence was tense, and Shadow felt sheepish for even bothering. He kept telling himself how ridiculous it was trying to do something to make this messed up situation any less, but never the less; he tried and tried to say something –anything- that would cause further trouble. While he never cared about being polite, ruthlessness was never his intent.

“Figures.” Spite laced his words like arsenic, and Shadow felt his heart stop. “Go ahead, open it.” It was almost a challenge he could hear in his twin’s voice.

“Sonic – these are-!” Opening the box revealed a pair of shiny red, white, and black jet shoes, fashioned from metal and durable, almost solid, plastic. Everything about them was perfect, down to the exact color coordination, size, and clasp.

“You kept telling me how the shoes Tails engineered were so cool, when he last visited, so I got him to make you a pair.” Even though the blue-haired teens words were quiet, almost careful, the smile on his face was genuine.

“Thanks.” It was all Shadow could say before slipping out of his favorite – and unfortunately tattered- pair of shoes, carefully pulling the jet shoes on, testing the accelerator in the sole of the shoes to find that they did, in fact, work just how they should.

“Hey,” Sonic paused; face appearing that he was internally conflicted. “Don’t get yourself killed, okay? I’d like to see you again, whenever you feel ready to return.” They both knew it was the closest thing Sonic would ever come to saying what he really felt, but neither minded too horribly. There was a subtle language between the two that they had become fluent in since they were children. Perching up in the windowsill, the black haired teen offered a hint of a sad smile, eyes apologetic.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” And without another word, Shadow bounded down onto the roof of another part of the castle that only had a single floor. The foreign shoes were exciting to him as he practically sprinted across the rooftop, pressing down on the accelerator and finding he could practically glide with them. Behind him, scorch marks traced his path, and he didn’t care in the slightest.

Before long, the gaze of his brother was nothing but a distant memory, and he was approaching the city limits. While he had made his way back and forth between areas of the rooftops capable of holding his weight, he was silently wondering how he would make it out of the gate unnoticed. There was nearly an entire half mile between the main gate and any settlement in which he could use to roof-hop over the gate.

Silently, he traversed the dirt road that connected the city streets and the main gate. Even if this was his country, technically, guards that saw him out and about were ordered to drag his sorry ass back to his mother –something that wasn’t an option, at this point. He had one shot, and failure was not an option.

As he approached the dimly lit gate, he noticed something peculiar in front of it –an automobile. While they were becoming more and more accessible to lower classes, one of this model and pristine could have only belonged to a noble –royalty, at that. Taking a better look, he noticed the swishing of white hair in the backseat, on the driver side, and immediately realized who it was; Silver, the Prince of the Snow Tribe! He must be on his way out of the city!

Without so much as a noise, the Sun Prince made his way across the city rooftops, nearing the car with unheard of speed. Jumping down, he quickly approached the car, trying to seem as calm and not suspicious as he possibly could. Before he could even tap on the window, it was rolled down, revealing the smiling face of the white-haired prince from earlier.

“Prince Shadow, pleasure seeing you here.” A curt nod accompanied the pleasant smile, and Shadow felt obligated to try and feign politeness in return. Even though he wasn’t nearly as reckless as his brother could be when his mother wasn’t hovering, genuine politeness was never something he was able to grasp.

“Heading out so soon?”

“Business visits are always short, I’ve found. Though, your tribe is always one I enjoy visiting.” He stuck his head out the window, slightly, looking back longingly at the city. Shadow might have agreed, had he not felt the very city enclosed around him as he walked down the streets.

“Well, if you don’t hurry, you might miss seeing our new King being crowned.” Shadow said, his words sobering him of his adrenaline rush. ‘That is, you might have missed me being crowned’, a part of his mind said bitterly, and he let it. After all, it was true. He was supposed to be named King, and he was supposed to rule the tribe, but he had so many more important things to do, like chatting with the Prince of the Snow Tribe, and trying to convince the kid to sneak him out of his own country.

“As will you.”

“I came here with the intent to leave.” A false bravery took over, and inside, he was left with a bile on his tongue. How much more of a coward could he be, before the night was over? If it was up to him, he wouldn’t have dared to figure out.

“Oh.” The male’s lone word was hardly above a whisper, but it spoke volumes. Had he thought Shadow was there simply for a personalized escort from the lovely Queen?

“Would you mind if I came with, if only for a portion of the way? I’m still unsure of my destination, but I’d like to get as far away as I can, as quickly as I can.”Even though the situation was hardly funny, or even the slightest bit amusing, he still tried forcing a smile and a half-hearted laugh. Both failed, and he just opted for shoving his hands in his pockets and casually smirking.

“Hah, of course.” A humored look appeared on the prince’s face, clearly finding this much more amusing than he was –but then again, he looked like he hadn’t had a good adventure in months, and helping an apathetic prince escape his kingdom certainly was a ride.

Taking this as an invitation, Shadow walked around to the other side, opening the door with ease and slipping in, careful to keep his bag from getting banged around. Inside the car, he noticed that only the prince and his driver –who was blocked out by a partition- were present.

“No body guards?” There was a hint of humor in his voice, but he didn’t dare let a smile touch his lips.

“Of course not –if they were visible, what use would they be?” Even with the playful chuckle added to the end, it was completely unnerving for the prince to speak about such matters so lightly.

Now it was Shadow’s turn to silently mouth an ‘oh’. 

The front gate finished opening, and the car came back to life, slowly rolling past the front gate. The black-haired teen unknowingly held his breath as the gate passed by, exhaling suddenly as soon as the only thing surrounding them was green, midnight plains. 

“Shadow, say hello to freedom.” The white-haired male smiled, bright yellow eyes pleasantly glimmering.

“Thank you.” The half-smile on his face was the closest he could get to anything relatively genuine to the internal ecstacy he was feeling.

Freedom felt so very, very sweet.

“Exciting, isn’t it?” Just like everything else that came out of the prince’s mouth, it was light-hearted and playful. At least, that’s how it sounded, but with the hint of nonchalance added, it sent a shiver up his spine. Well, it was either that, or the fact that Shadow had only just noticed that the two rune-like tattoos on the prince’s skin were glowing a dim blue.

“Without doubt. Have you ever done this, before?”

“Tried to. There was someone I couldn’t leave behind, though.” A distant look came over his face, softening his expression as he stared wistfully out the window - the only thing outside the car being an endless expanse of grass, a horizon of mountain tops, and a hastily disappearing city behind them. As soon as the city was completely out of sight, save for the shimmering halo of light that reached well over the mountains.

The words of the Prince hit Shadow like a brick, and his stomach twisted tight.

“Couldn’t… leave behind.” It’s only barely above a whisper, but in the silence, it was as loud as gunfire. Silver nearly flinched at the cold words, turning his attention to the other prince –only to find his amber eyes calm and understanding. The knot in his stomach twisted just a bit tighter.

“Want to go back?” The words are caring, but Shadow felt the unintended insult like being back-handed. His fists clenched just a bit tighter on the car-seat leather, and he’s glad he clipped his nails just two days prior –tearing through leather would’ve meant a bit of complications and more apologies than the brooding prince was willing to spew.

“No, never. This is something I have to do.” The determination in his voice didn’t go unnoticed, the surprised look on Silver’s face turning into one of understanding.

“Very well. Driver, take us home.” With a tap on the partition, Shadow could barely notice the driver even nod his head, steering the car a bit further to the west –or at least, what the Sun Prince assumed was west. When the sun was set, the black haired teen had the direction sense of a drunkard at the peak of his night. Of course, he would never admit that to anyone.

It only took another second for the silver haired male’s words to set in.

“Home?” It was more of an alarmed exclamation than a curious one –he had only just met this individual, and already he was willing to take the insufferable, brooding teen in? Breathing hastened, nearly catching, Shadow gave the other monarch a curious, almost bewildered stare.

“To the Snow Tribe. Would you like to come with? I’m certain my people would be thrilled to invite a new outsider.” The only thing Silver seemed capable of was pure, unadulterated kindness –perhaps even to the point of naivety. Shadow stared at him for all of a moment, before shaking his head in decline.

“No; I ran away to gain some independence. I wouldn’t feel right to simply change hands.” The Snow Prince nodded in response, his namesake hair falling over into his face as he did so, mingling with the white, fluffy collar that adorned his –what the Sun Prince assumed was heirloom- ornate cape.

“Admirable- for someone of your age.”

“Someone of my age? How old are you?” Despite his usually calm demeanor, the aggressive teen –adult, he reminded himself- couldn’t contain the hurt in his voice. Even if he had outstepped his boundaries –of both his country and social decency- he still expected to be treated like the adult he technically was. Being treated like a child was another reason why he left, to begin with.

“Twenty.”

Another silent ‘oh’.

A heavy silence clung to the air, most of the tension emanating from the anti-social prince. 

“Well, it was pleasant meeting you, Silver, but I think I’ll be alright from here.” Outside, the shimmer of light on the horizon was hastily disappearing, the night sky transforming into a starry masterpiece. 

“Are you sure? Not going to second guess yourself, now, are you?” He seemed more challenging than worried –as though trying to see if he was right to put his faith in Shadow’s cause.

“Not a chance.”

“Good. You know, you certainly remind me of someone I know.” The monarch’s voice trailed off, almost as though unsure of himself. “Well, I hope we meet again, perhaps on better circumstances.” The Snow Prince concluded with a sunny smile.

“As do I.” Was all he could manage to say, through bated breath, as Silver rolled his window up, and the car disappeared into the night. All around him was a seemingly endless expanse of wide, open space, grass and dirt and rocks being the only things around for –what appeared to be- miles.

A grin widened over his face. Just the scent of the plain made his heart race, excitement coursing through his veins.

And for the first time in nearly ten years, he laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took me SO long to finally type up, and solidify, and I’m still not comfortable with Silver’s tone. He’s much too formal, but later on, he’ll loosen up and act more like he does in the game –the cute, naïve kid who puts his faith in anything. Oh, and Shadow will start acting more like the grim, dark and edgy kid without a past that he is. (Pffft, maybe I’ll even have him claim amnesia?)
> 
> If any part sounds awkward, let me know! I’m almost ready to improve my writing!


	3. New World

Wind flew through Shadow’s hair as he glided down the rails. After Silver had dropped him off on the plains, he found his way up to and through the mountains and had found a series of rust-coated rails that webbed from mountain to mountain. At first, he was hesitant at the look of them, considering they hardly looked stable or well-maintained, but once he got enough courage to, he found that grinding down on them –like he the rails of the palace, which he had done so many times when he was younger- made getting from each mountain so much more efficient. Though, to be honest, it was mostly practice, momentum, and sheer dumb luck that he managed to avoid what seemed to be an idiotic death waiting to happen.

Of course, the speed and stability he got from the jet shoes hardly hurt anything.

By now, it had almost reached sun down, and the former prince was set on scoping out any place he could make shelter in. Not that he had an issue with sleeping on the ground, but a roof was always mandatory, considering the rain season coming in any day now.

He tried to reel back the scowl on his face –he only knew the weather so well because it was a skill he had to learn to become king; in order to estimate crop yield in order to set up appropriate trade taxes, or whatever it was that they claimed it was for. Personally, he always felt it was just because they were the Sun Tribe, and it was part of their culture to be bound to something or other. He didn’t let that phase him too terribly, though.

‘By now, Sonic has been made King, so he’ll be the one to deal with things, in my absence.’ While he felt just the smallest, tiniest bit of pity for his brother, nothing could make him go back.

A sudden flash of colors flickered in the sky, and caught the brooding male’s attention.

What he had expected was a bird of prey, or possibly another set of rails –or hell, even one of those Gears Airships would have been a possible option. However, that would have been too easy. No, instead, what caught his eye was primarily red in color, falling to the ground, and most definitely not a bird. Shadow’s stomach practically retched as he realized what had caught his eye.

It was, without a shadow of a doubt, a human –or at the very least a beastman of sorts- and they were coming down fast.

With a fast calculating mind, Shadow approximated where the figure would fall, and carefully slowed himself down just enough to buy a bit of time. If there was anything he could do to help this person, he would do it, even though every intellectual cell in his brain was screaming just how faulty and idiotic of a plan it was.

‘Damn Sonic’s hero instincts rubbing off on me.’ But he had no time to deal with that.

Crouching closer to the rails, sparks flew from where jet shoes met metal, and while the friction heated his feet, Shadow couldn’t have cared less. No matter how selfish he was, he wasn’t about to watch someone fall to their death, especially when there was something he could do about it.

As he drew ever closer, he recalculated again and again to figure out where this individual was going to fall. There wasn’t any room for error in a situation as grave as this. A sharp corner caused him to have to let up on the rails just the slightest, loosing speed for a split second, but quickly regained it once he was upright again –his jet boots helping to speed him up immensely. Even though he was hesitant that he was going to miss catching the falling figure, that same fear made him crouch closer, speed gaining with every second.

‘I have five seconds to position myself exactly where they’ll hit the rails, or that’ll be the end of them.’ This thought made him so incredibly nervous, but he could already see the falling individual’s shadow on the rails and made for that.

Five. He sped up, trying to make the distance as quickly as he could.

Four. Sparks flew this way and that as the runaway prince went around another sharp turn. A fear ate at him as he realized he might not make it.

Three… So close – so close!

Two… The sound of his jet boots whirring resounded in his ears and made them twitch, but all he could focus on was getting where he needed to be.

One! Arms held out, and the individual practically crash-landed into them, nearly throwing Shadow off-balance. Fortunately, he recovered just in time, and let up considerably on the rails. It wouldn’t do to go so fast that he dropped the -incredibly androgynous- individual who he had only just saved.

Examining the person he was carrying practically bridal style, he found them to be unconscious and –what Shadow assumed to be- a priest or priestess of sorts. The headdress they wore, doubled with a traditional ceremonial hakama(1), spoke credibility to that. Though, the bandages and braided talisman bracelets on their wrists spoke to something else entirely –but that would have to wait until they woke up. 

It was only with the mention of sleep that the runaway prince remembered just how truly exhausted he was.

Looking up, he noticed the rail ending at a mountain trail up ahead, and decided that best course of action would be some rest –for both of them. Taking the rail in stride, he slid down it as though it were nothing, and was on solid ground before he even realized it.

Several moments of searching passed before Shadow was able to find an overpass that expanded on far enough to act as their shelter. His first order of business was to set the red-haired individual down, and check them for injuries. Of course, the former prince didn’t have any idea what to look for, considering he wasn’t trained in first aid. The closest thing he knew of people patch work came from the fights he got in with Sonic, and the nightmares of war that invaded his dreams. But that was another story altogether.

After he set his backpack to the side, he took a moment to rest his feet, sitting next to the unconscious figure in front of him. Even with the headdress, the unconscious individual’s face had a sort of masculine quality about it that Shadow hadn’t quite noticed earlier, and he couldn’t help his curiosity on what gender this individual was. Of course, that could easily be remedied, considering the situation, but he didn’t want to think like that. Sure, it was only natural to think about things like that, but this wasn’t the time for that. No, this was purely professional. Or, at least, that’s what he kept muttering to himself over and over as he unhooked the clasps that held together the redhead’s shirt.

Upon opening the shirt, Shadow was greeted by well-developed abs and chiseled pecks –needless to say, he found himself feeling sourly disappointed that he hadn’t ended up saving some beautiful damsel in distress. Just his luck that he had met two possible dames in the last two days, and they both turned out to be men. Of course, he didn’t have time to be thinking about this; this man’s life could possibly be at risk!

Without a second thought, he set to opening the rest of the shirt, undoing the binding sash around his waist with the utmost care –considering it was silk, and looked incredibly expensive. In fact, taking another look at the red-haired man, Shadow found that just about everything about him looked custom-made and fit for royalty.

‘Just my luck,’ the bitter teen thought to himself. ‘I escape the castle only to find myself saving another snobby prince’. Though, he swallowed his disdain and bit back the scowl on his face. Even if he didn’t want to, he had to check the unconscious individual for any injuries.

The examination itself was a fairly quick ordeal, considering how there was a lack of any cuts, bruising, or discoloration anywhere on the man’s chest or calves –while Shadow was a tactless menace, he would at least be respectful enough to keep the man’s pants on, considering he couldn’t see any blood on them.

Looking out the overpass, the prince noticed how the sun had sunken just beneath the horizon, the twilight hue making the mountains illuminate beautifully. Never had he appreciated his surroundings in his entire life, considering how he always felt it was suffocating him, but now that he was on his own –well, to say it was breath-taking would be giving it credit due.

He watched with bated breath as the sunlight slowly receded beyond the mountains, the stars beginning to rise in its place. Something about the scene calmed him to the core, and his usually destructive mind felt a welcoming bliss for the first time in many, many long years. It was as though life had come to a sudden standstill of beauty, and he could only be held to watch it unfold right before his very eyes.

A shuffle of clothing and an exasperated groan broke that calm faster than gunfire, and his ears twitched and flattened as he whipped his attention to the source of the sound.

Upright, shirtless, and with a piercing amethyst gaze, the previously unconscious man was staring him dead in the eyes, expression suspicious. In response, he could only manage a cold stare and a half-hearted smile. It’s only now that he reprimands himself for never teaching himself the social skills needed to interact with strangers. Fortunately, the man is first to break the silence.

“Who are you?” Oh, how his voice is like boiling hot quicksilver, and it pierces straight through Shadow’s calm façade. A feeling of irritation boils in his stomach, but he pushed it down with haste. It wouldn’t do to make enemies when he was as alone as he was in the world.

“The man who saved your life.” He stated, oh so matter-of-factly, trying to seem intimidating. The red-haired male calmed down at that, seeming to understand the gravity of his predicament.

“Saved? I was in danger?”

“You were falling from the sky. How did you even get up there, anyway? I haven’t seen any airships in days.”

“I well, uh…” Hesitant, he continued to open and close his mouth like he was willing the words to form on their own –they didn’t.

“Hmm?” A bit of encouragement always helped, Shadow found, and soon the redhead could actually find the ability to use his vocal chords once more.

“I can fly.” He said it like it wasn’t anything to be surprised about. However, the freshly-runaway prince thought otherwise, his surprise showing on his face. Not like he didn’t try to play it off cool and casually, though. That was always the best option; cool and calm, like nothing mattered, like nothing could ever dare to harm or affect you, even if it burned and scraped at your heart and hope.

“How? I don’t see any wings on your back. Or did you fly too close to the sun, and they melted off?” A small chuckle escaped both of them from his comment, but they let it die with that. After all, quick quips at mythology was hardly something to bond over.

“No, not exactly.” A smile –ever so slight and hardly noticeable in the terrible lighting- was evident on the older male’s lips, and Shadow could only feel the need to return it –just as diluted and unnoticeable.

“Well, whatever you say, Icarus. I have all day, though. Don’t have anywhere to be, so feel free to explain away.” Even though he didn’t quite want it to, he could feel the small smile on his face growing with his own humor, just as the man’s did, like a terrible infection of happiness. All the black-haired hedgehog could do was tighten his fists, feeling the cloth of his pants stretch slightly, but stay put. He didn’t bring any back-ups with him, so he was glad to snap right back to his sense’s and stop sinking his nails into the black fabric.

“First off; my name’s Knuckles. Second, I’m what people like you would call a Sky-Dweller. We use magic from runes to keep ourselves and our cities above the ground.” The red-haired male lifts up his hand, revealing three odd tear-shaped stone attached to a beaded necklace around his wrist. While the necklace isn’t anything out of the ordinary, the gems glimmer with a faint, bluish light. They’re… interesting, to say the very least.

“So, you’re one of the Ancients, are you? Haven’t seen one in quite a while.” Shadow says with a definite head nod, his eyes focused on the redhead’s hands, studying them, almost.

“When had you seen one before?” He sounds baffled, amazed even. Perhaps he’d never seen one of his own kin before, considering how rare they were –to find a full-blood, anyway. There were certainly half-breeds and distant kin roaming almost all of the countries –easily distinguished by their eye color.

“A while back, when I was much younger. A small girl came to our residence, frail and worn from travel. She passed away soon after arriving, though. A real shame, too, since she’s the only full-blood I’d ever seen of the Ancients –well, until now, that is.” The sound of his voice was casual, but careful.

“I see…” He sounds disheartened, and the black-haired teen feels regret for how carelessly he worded what he said. But then again, he was sure that it wasn’t anything he was at least hardened to, by now. The man –Knuckles, he reminded himself- seemed like a realistic individual.

“Ah, but, how come you fell from the sky? Did your er, runes falter?” He speak slowly, tiptoeing around the words.

“Runes are powered by Chaos Energy. Are you familiar with the concept?”

“I learned about it in school, I think. It’s what keeps the Airships floating, and what powers lights, and other things like that, right?”

“That’s one way to put it. It’s essentially the energy that powers all life. However, there are some gems and metals that have high, concentrated energy in them, so when harnessed it can do strange things, like heat up to incredible temperatures to light objects –how lights work- or push currents through pipes, or even power turbines and gravitational fields to keep things afloat, like the Airships. My runes act as gravity cancelers, and allow me to propel through the air. Though, they only have a certain amount of energy, and must be replenished.” His eyes light up as he speaks on the topic, becoming more and more enthralled in the topic –though hardly like a giddy child, that’s for sure.

“How do you go about doing that?”

“There are incredibly massive gems called Chaos Emeralds. Each one holds enough energy to power the entire continent for several decades, and regenerate their own energy. I’m able replenish my runes by placing them next to them.” Off into the distance, I can hear owls howling, and I’m slightly unsettled by it, but don’t let it show. I’ve never liked being awake at night, considering all the animals that cry to the moon.

“That’s…”

“Pretty incredible, huh?” His amethyst eyes glow bright for the briefest of seconds, his excitement seeming to get the best of him –that is before he gets a hold of himself and settles back down. In the near darkness Shadow can see him chuckle a bit before clearing his throat, and can’t help but feel a bit awkward with him.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah.”

“Enough about that, though. I’m curious, what’s a hedgehog like yourself doing up here in the Hallow Railway? And all alone, no less.”

“I-” Shadow hesitates, a vile taste of fear on his tongue; he feels like he’s going to mess up, say something he shouldn’t. “I want to know that, too. Up until a little while ago, I don’t remember much of anything. Major things, like my family, my home. I’m not sure. Some things are crystal clear, and others are so foggy I can’t decipher. Like, my mother’s face –it’s crystal clear, I can imagine her smile, her scent, but not her name. It’s strange, really” He doesn’t miss a single beat, though. An overwhelming feeling of calm rushes over him, and he can feel his body physically relax. While he feigns trembling hands and a fearful voice, internally he’s commending himself for such a wonderful performance. It’d been a while since he last had to tell such an extensive lie.

“Is that so? That’s not good…” The red-haired male purses his lips, eyebrows tight, as though caught in concentration. From the corner of his eye, Shadow can see the male twiddling with his headdress –ornate in its own right- and only then realizes just how very… outdated his outfit is, but only brushes it aside. He is a part of the Ancient’s race, so it’s only to be a bit expected. 

“I figure if I just search the world enough, I’ll find someone who knows me.” Even with his fists clenched tight, his words still sound incredibly forced but he spits them out anyone. In the back of his mind, he knows, without a doubt, that he has to avoid the Sun Tribe at every and all costs. If he were to return, at least right away, he would only be welcomed with tears and steel –and possibly a few more broken bones from the new king.

“Is there anywhere in particular you’re headed, next?”

“Not really. I just came from the Sun Tribe, and couldn’t find anything.”

“Well, if you head south, there’s the Gears Tribe, as well as the Soul Tribe, just a big further, near the coast.”

‘Soul Tribe?’ Shadow thinks to himself –he hadn’t heard anything about there being a ‘Soul Tribe’ before. Even though he grew up in the middle of politics, he wasn’t ever told much about the outside world, aside from the occasional visits to the Gears Tribe and Love Tribe –oh how he loathed visiting that godforsaken hell. The last time they visited there, he nearly maimed the Tribe’s dearest princess. But that was now just a distant memory now that he 

“What’s this ‘Soul Tribe’ like?” He crosses his legs as he speaks

“Strike a memory?” A hint of excitement passes through his voice, and Shadow only feels a twinge of guilt for playing him on with faked amnesia. It’s all necessary, though, he reminds himself. After all, the last thing he needs is special treatment for being a cowardly run-away prince.

“Not exactly, it just sounds, how do I put it…?”

“Nostalgic?” The human –‘humanoid, perhaps?’ Shadow muses to himself- offers, expression kind, even in the hastily approaching darkness.

“Foreign, actually.”

“Hmm, well, if you want, I was actually headed there myself, and I could bring you along. Only if you wanted to, of course!” He gets increasingly frazzled as he speaks, almost like some kid panicking. A small laugh escapes Shadow, and he goes wide eyed before looking away, embarrassed; the idea of actually feeling amused, feeling happy is still so very strange and uncomfortable.

“Sounds like it’d be fun. But I guess it would be too much to hope we could just fly there with your runes, though, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s actually why I’m headed there. A woman tried to steal my Tribe’s Chaos Emerald, so I smashed it in half, and I know for a fact she has half of it. I’ve heard that she’s currently occupying the Soul Tribe –or at least, she was. I heard that about that several days ago, so she’s probably moved on, since. Can’t hurt to check, though.”

“I see. The sun’s not going to be up for a while, so how about we rest up here for the night, and tomorrow we can head out.” Shadow’s voice is nothing but certain, but internally, he’s praying that the recently acquainted with Knuckles won’t pull up some excuse or another to avoid venturing together –he’s not familiar with anything outside the general Sun Tribe area, so trying to find that place on his own would take far longer than he would want to waste. And it only helps that the guy seems pretty cool, in his own far-too-genuine way.

“Sounds good to me.” The older male lays back down on the ground, and attempts to get situated. Shadow doesn’t observe him for long, and put his attention into taking some of the clunkier objects out of his bag in order to use it as a pillow. The ground was hardly comfortable against his bare skin, and he couldn’t help the feeling of annoyance in his stomach.

Though, it improved considerably when he felt something hit his arm –a thick shawl of sorts. On the other side of the cave, the run-away saw Knuckles rummaging around in a bag he had at his hip –how had the prince missed that? And he produced a similar shawl, presumably for himself.

“Thanks.”

“It’s no good to travel unprepared. Though, I’m sure you’ve realized that by now.” Even in the dark, Shadow can feel the dirty smirk on the Ancients’ face, and is half-tempted to wipe it clean off –but decides heavily against that, considering how he’s only shown him nothing but kindness.

“Good night.” Laying down, faced away, he can only hear a general noise of agreement from the other side of the room before passing out. Enough excitement can exhaust anyone, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I have no idea how to describe kimono-like clothing for dudes, but if anyone has a guide/help/anything, I’d really appreciate it. Really, no fuckin clue.
> 
> This chapter needs so much work but idk what to do with it.


	4. Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter contains descriptions of violence, and whatnot. If that is upsetting to you please proceed with caution!

Out ahead of them spread out miles upon miles of plains, with a tree spotted every now and then. Above, the bright sky gave no hint of reprieve, with any cloud that was even close to the midway sun dissipated within minutes. Truly it was warm out, but with jet boots making it so much easier to run, the black hedgehog couldn’t have said he cared too much. The breeze also made the think heat so much more bearable. And if anything, running around like that was one of the few things that allowed him to completely block out the outside world.

Well, except for the nagging voice of his companion he for some reason felt the constant need to ditch.

“Shadow! Would you -huff- wait up!” The red-head was almost just as red in the face, but gave no hint to being tired from anything other than his speech. From what Shadow could see, he was actually more exasperated from anger than from trying to catch up to the speeding sun prince. Whoever this guy was, he certainly wasn’t out of shape, that’s for sure -but Shadow would know that, considering he had seen his well-toned abs under his traditional clothes.

“Why? Trying to take your time to enjoy the scenery?” A smirk tugged at Shadow’s lips. It wasn’t often that people were patient with him and his shenanigans. At least, not back at the castle, they weren’t.

“No, I’m just trying to keep good pace. If you keep going like this you’re going to wear yourself out.” The priest’s approaching jog halts to a stop in front of Shadow, and he almost feels bad. Compared to the prince, Knuckles was fully dressed in multiple layers with much heavier equipment, where Shadow only had pants, bandages, and a light-loaded backpack.

“Alright, we can go at a slower pace. How long is it until we reach the Tribe, anyway?” The inquiry is genuine, as Shadow had never honestly set foot out this far, having always been confined to his mother’s side. Even now, he thinks about how strangely sheltered he had been, and found it almost alarming.

“The coast shouldn’t be too much further, and then it’s a straight shot west from there.”

“The coast? As in the beach?” A twinkle of excitement showed through in Shadow’s face and voice, and Knuckle’s couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.

“What’s up? You never been to the beach?” Immediately straightening his back, the dark-clad male let out an indignant cough. Red crept through his cheeks though, even with his seemingly serious expression. If anything, he just seemed to be purely embarrassed for his relapse of youthful joy.

“I’m sure it’s nothing exciting.” His voice stammered out of his mouth before he could stop it. In a small fit, he kicked up a bit of dirt, and shoved his hands in his packets -trying to seem nonchalant and uncaring all at once, and failing miserably at both. The redhead next to him let out something of a sigh and chuckle, satisfied with his unintentional teasing.

“But yeah, the city’s pretty magnificent. It’s designed to be reminiscent of a coral reef -and the Baroness is all the more incredible.” The way Knuckles went on about it, he thought he had lived there for years- not to mention the way his gemstone eyes lit up just as they had before, when discussing the Chaos Emeralds. Somewhere in Shadow’s chest, he felt some kind of jealousy to that. He had never felt too attached to anything, not the castle, nor his duties, nor his people -or even his family. Nothing could excite him as readily as Knuckles.

“Who’s the Baroness? Their equivalent of the Queen, I’m guessing?” It was a nonchalant statement, but it got the Ancient going like it was nobodies business. It wouldn’t do to have Knuckles thinking he knew anything about the world, and decided to just play dumb. After all, if he didn’t know his own mother’s name, how would he know what the Soul Tribe was like?

“The Queen?! Not even close! The people of the Soul Tribe attribute a leader every decade, who will rule over them. It has nothing to do with bloodlines, it’s entirely based on what the people desire. That’s why the title is Baron, and not ruler -because Baron means servant, and she is the Servant to the will of the people.” Hands swayed to and fro as he spoke, and Shadow had a hard time keeping up with him. Even if he didn’t seem too bright when it came to people and personal space, he certainly knew his politics.

“Wait -what’s that?” Something caught the redhead’s eye.

Looking overhead, Shadow noticed it as well -something circling in the distance. From where they were, it appeared to be several scavenger birds circling above their next meal. Though, considering they hadn’t encountered a single animal in the last hour or so, it did set off warning bells.

“What’s over there, do you think?” It was only above a whisper, and Knuckles could hardly bring himself to respond. His mouth hung ajar slightly, and his eyes squinted to see better.

“Let’s get higher.” The sun prince nodded in agreement, and the two raced to the top of the hill in front of them. It was much steeper of a climb than either of them expected, but they made it to the top in mere moments. What greeted them nearly tore both of their hearts right out. Time stood still for what seemed like an eternity, and even in the bright summer day, the world seemed to only grow colder.

A ruin, charred and still smoking. An entire ocean of burned buildings and ash laid out in front of them.

“Is that… what I think it is.” It was more of a plea than a question, and Shadow didn’t want to be right. Even if he knew he was smart, he wanted, just for this one time to be wrong.

Knuckles only nodded his head slowly in agreement and horror. 

“This is… the Soul Tribe,” He swallowed hard, voice shaking. “Or at least, what’s left of it.” Underneath Shadow, the ground seemed to disappear, his legs becoming unable to keep himself up. Above, the birds of prey let out a screech, continuing their search.

“Damn, how could this have happened? I thought you said they were peaceful.” Even with the sun beating down on Shadow, his exposed skin seemed to receive none of the heat, as he trembled in a chill.

“They were, but,” A pause, a hitch in his breath that screamed apprehension. “I don’t know what could have happened. Let’s check the town, maybe we can find a survivor who can tell us any clues.” Knuckles helped the distraught prince up, getting him to his feet without missing a beat. They walked towards the ashen ruins with an overhanging silence, the kind in where breathing seems far too loud. Even the sound of the dead grass crunching under their shoes seemed to be overwhelming.

Reaching the very entrance of the sprawling city, they found it to smell abhorrent at best -the scent of burning flesh and building lingered in the air. Around them was nothing but destruction. Every now and then, they would see parts of bodies, a severed arm, or a mass grave, mostly burned. Nightmarish sights flashed before Shadow even when he closed his eyes, memories of his nightmares coming back stronger than ever.

“Are you okay?” It was hardly a whisper, but the hand on Shadow’s shoulder told him the comfort was real. The redhead’s face was contorted with worry, and something that seemed like a silent rage. Shadow couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was feeling -considering how he seemed to adore this place. The stone under his feet was caked with ash and what seemed to be boiled blood -to say it was pleasant would be laughable at best. Not that either of them would dare to say that.

“Just worry about yourself, I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t entirely the truth, and even though it wasn’t his idea to check it out, he wasn’t just going to abandon the priest to look around the decimated city by himself. While the sun prince wasn’t one for getting dirty, he wasn’t entirely against it, either. He had to keep the facade up that he was some kind of amnesiac as well as he could, for the time being at least.

“Let’s get a move on, then. We need to find the city’s political office.” Even if he was something of a knucklehead, Shadow wouldn’t debate for a second that the Ancient was smart. Though, now was hardly the time for waxing sentimental over this person he only met two days ago. There were more important things to be worrying about at the moment.

They walked in silence for a long period, taking in the sights as they came in. Held breathe became a thing Shadow hastily became used to, trying to breathe in as little of the ash as he possibly could -there was no way this would be good for his health. If he had thought about it more, he would have considered grabbing some kind of cloth to cover his mouth, but there wasn’t much he could focus on other than finding the city hall, and keeping Knuckles directly in sight. With the redhead’s luck, he’d likely trip over the rubble of the destroyed buildings.

When they finally reached an opening through the close alleyways, they had reached the central plaza of the city. In the middle sat a partially destroyed fountain of -what Shadow presumed to be- a marble mermaid with a vase that poured out water. Now, only the scaly tail, caked with ash and pierced with shrapnel, and the left half of the torso remained. Sitting in the fountain was crumbled parts of her well-carved face, and the smashed vase. The sight of it reminded him somewhat of his own home, back at the palace.

It’s a bit funny thinking that now, considering he had never considered it a home when he lived there.

“Shadow… Look at this.” Knuckles was back a ways, looking at some random house of sorts -perhaps a store. It was hard to tell, considering how any real markings on it had been burned off and torn away.

“What is it?” There was a look of dread on the redhead’s face, and the prince couldn’t exactly blame him. The whole scene was something to be appalled by. Even still, the putrid scent of burn flesh persisted in the air, and burned his nose, mouth, throat, and lungs whole -covering his mouth with a cloth had been all but useless to alleviate the burden, as well.

“These marks…” He lifted his hand, pointing at an assortment of seemingly random gashes in the stone. “They’re letters.”

“What for? What does it say?” Despite the fact that Shadow could in fact read and write, and understand many of the cultural quirks that encompassed the other tribes, there were some things he didn’t care to learn -most of which being different written quirks. As far as he knew, the different ‘languages’ of the other tribes were essentially the same thing, with some conjugal differences and cosmetic strangeness. He assumed this was the same case.

“It says ‘Night’.” There was that word again - just like Shadow’s mother had been discussing with the Snow Tribe’s prince - Night. Why did it seem to matter so much? Who was the Night Tribe, and why in hell did they decide to suddenly eradicate this entire village? This was so wrong on every level, and he needed answers.

“I need to go there, then.” Shadow spoke, his tone definitive. The redhead’s eyes widened in anger and fear, disbelief and possibly even concern.

“You can’t be serious. Shadow, this isn’t some joke. These people -”

“Committed a heinous crime, and need to face judgement.” The prince turned away, taking a step away. If there was anything he couldn’t stand, it was needless bloodshed -and this was certainly the definition of that. Behind him, he could hear the priest shuffle a bit, possibly uncomfortable at the idea.

“Yeah, but-” He cut himself off, choosing instead to stay silent. Shadow expected him to quickly finish his thought. When he didn’t, the prince turned back around, only to be faced by a massive, towering figure of 8 feet, with an unconscious Knuckles draped over his shoulder. Adrenaline pumped through Shadow’s veins at the mere sight of it, eyes dilating, back hunching over. A primal instinct of rage overcame the teen -his beastkin instincts overcoming him easily.

“You are to come with us, Prince.” The voice bellowing from the giant was surprisingly docile, and led Shadow to believe that he possibly had a choice in the matter, and attempted to step back, to rear up for an assault. Before he could realize it, his legs were failing him, and he was left to kneel on his hastily crippling body -his eyesight becoming blurred. For a moment, he thought it was the rage, but with his vision swimming, he knew that wasn’t it -something was wrong.

He didn’t even feel the tranquilizer in his neck until it was too late.

‘I fucked up.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be going through and probably rewriting a bit to get it to all flow a bit better and get the characters more in-character. (I have no idea why, but Shadow is so hard for me to write.)


End file.
